I recently went through an event that left me very depressed, the only way of getting through this has been being steadfast in my prayers. But I still have my days where I feel like Iím literally going to fall to the ground and melt, in sense I just want to crawl up in a ball and hide somewhere because all these thoughts, regrets, memories are hunting me. Iím fine when Iím at home praying but obviously with school I canít be in that safe spot all the time which is the prayer mat. My question than is what do I do, how I do get myself up from these panic attacks. I trust Allahís Will more than ever now, and I know that HE is Most Merciful and Compassionate and therefore everythingwill be alright. But are there any duaís or perhaps Allahís names that I can recite to bring some peace to my soul? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you kindly.

JazakAllah Khair.

Ma Salaam

Replies: Posted By: Nausheen
Date Posted: 04 April 2005 at 3:28pm

Auzubillahi minash shaitan ir rajeem,

Bismillah ir rahman ir rahim,

Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullah,

Dear Severa,

I am sorry to hear about your condition. may allah give you strength and guide you thru all the difficult circimstances, insha allah, Ameen.

It is indeed true that the remembrance of allah can heal the hearts.

It is said in the Quran - verily in the rememberance of allah, do the hearts find rest.

When you cannot pray, but have some free time, try to recite the quran, or just say la illah illallah, or any other rememberace of Allah. Like Alhamdulillah, subhan allah, or astaghfirullah. Try to engage your tongue in the remembrance, and slowly you will find its effect on your heart, insha allah this will help your condition.

I dont have ready proofs for this, but some ulema say that the recitation of sura ad-duha, once every morning & evening is a help in depression. If you wish, you can try it on yourself. It is a very short sura (number 93), if you can recite arabic, it takes not more than two minutes.

If you dont know arabic and are still interested in it, let me know, i will do the transliteration for you, insha allah.

I am sorry to hear that you are having such a hard time. I have had many hard times myself. I find that reciting verses from the Qur'an that tell us this life is a trial are very helpful. Repeating these thoughts over and again help me as well. Plus, always keeping Allah in mind, especially at the worst of times, keeps me from going "overboard". Telling myself that the life of this world means nothing compared to the life to come helps as well.

Here are some verses along these lines:

2:155-157 - "And most certainly shall We try you by means of danger, and hunger, and loss of worldly goods, of lives and of (labour's) fruits. but give glad tidings unto those who are patient in adversity - who, when calamity befalls them, say, 'Verily, unto Allah do we belong and verily, unto Him we shall return'. It is they upon whom their Sustainer's blessings and grace are bestowed, and it is they, they who are on the right path!"

29:64 - "For, the life of this world is nothing but a passing delight and a play - whereas, behold, the life in the hereafter is indeed the only [true] life: if they but knew this!"

57:20 - "Know [O men] that the life of this world is but a play and a passing delight, and a beautiful show, and [the cause of] your boastful vying with one another, and [of your] greed for more and more riches and children."

3:186 - "You shall most certainly be tried in your possessions and in your persons; and indeed you shall hear many hurtful things from those to whom revelation was granted before your time, as well as from those who have come to ascribe divinity to other beings beside Allah. But if you remain patient in adversity and conscious of Him - this, behold, is something to set one's heart upon."

4:77 - "...Say" 'Short is the enjoyment of this world: the Hereafter is the best for those who do right: never will ye be dealt with unjustly in the very least!'"

Ya Allah! I thank You for all in Your Creation that makes me feel joy, experience happiness, and know peace. Aameen!

Rubbana! You do not put a greater burden on a soul than it can bear. You are not angry with us when we make mistakes but are quick to forgive us and set us right. You do not lead us into moral and spiritual danger without protecting and guiding us, so that our souls can emerge unscathed. You do not allow us to be defeated by the deceits of unbelievers, but ensure that ultimately truth will be victorious. Rubbana! We listen to You and we obey You. Aameen!

Rubbana! Put courage into my heart and take away all that may hinder me serving You. Free my tongue to proclaim Your Goodness, that all may understand me. Give me friends to advise and help me, that by working together our efforts may bear abundant fruit. And above all, let me constantly remember that my actions are worthless unless they are guided by Your Hand. Aameen!

Above all else, Severa, remember that Allah answers sincere prayers and that He is always near! "To Allah belong the East and the West: withersoever ye turn, there is the Presence of Allah. For Allah is All-Pervading, All-Knowing." 2:115

Panic attacks are due to fear, once you establish what the fear is, then you can do something about it.

And I'm sorry to say this, prayer is not so much of a solution, it will help relax you and calm the mind but until you learn what the fear is and confront it and then deal with it, you will still have panic attacks.

If having panic attacks after an event then you are more likely going through a post traumatic stress, it still is due to fear and/or guilt. You need to face what is going on I know this is probably what you do not want to do, go to a professional counsellor and talk to them, write in a journal getting your feeling out somewhere can help because you are not storing it within yourself, which can also make things more worrysome.

I do tusbee too.. I don't speak arabic but if I said that right.. I do Subhaan Allah, Allhumdolillah & Allahu Akbur 100 times in total (ie. 33,33,34); or, La'illaha'illAllah 100X (or 'till I fall asleep).

(May Allah have mercy on me if I spelt it wrong).

Ps. If you ever want to talk to me, give me a private message.

Allah Hafiz.

Posted By: ~Severa~
Date Posted: 06 April 2005 at 11:46am

Nausheen: thank you for your kind words, and your help any other duas you can share would be great. May Allah reward you for your help with this thread as well as the fajir prayer thread.

Ummziba, Thank you so much, indeed remembering Allah is the best way toheal all wounds. Thank you for the lovely prayers and your time;

Angel: youíre absolutely right about establishing the fear, and I have with help of a professional but it is out of my control and theirs, only Allah (Swt) can know what is best. The two things that have helped me tremendously is turning to Allah and writing. Thank you kindly for your input.

IslamicGirl Zikr, reciting SubhAllah, Alhmadulliah, and the beautiful Names of Allah, as well as Surahís has brought me so much peace. Being steadfast in my prayers Alhamduliah, prostrating to Allah and asking HIM for his mercy is what gets me through the day and has gotten me through this rough time in my life. You will be in my prayers. Hope you will feel better too inshALlah. Hug

May Allah reward you all with infinite blessings for helping me. Ameen.

Posted By: Shams Zaman
Date Posted: 06 April 2005 at 12:59pm

As Salam o Alikum

I heard from a scholar that if you are in a stressed mental state then you should read Quran in the language you understand. A time will come when a verse will come in front of your eyes either giving solution of your problem or will cool down your heart and mind. Since then I have experinced this for atleast 3 times. Hope Allah will listen to your call Insha Allah.